


It's a Gamble

by Chinagirl18



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: F/M, Gambling, Relationship Problems, Support, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-04
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2017-12-13 23:58:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/830335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chinagirl18/pseuds/Chinagirl18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elliot is divorced and out of a job. He and his family are living in different houses. Olivia is still working at SVU. Set in Season 11, Elliot's and Olivia's chemistry and friendship have a huge role in putting Elliot's nasty habit to an end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: No material that is already owned by Dick Wolf or NBC is mine. But how I wish that I did...

"Elliot," Olivia gasped. She was sitting at her desk in Manhattan's Special Victims unit when she saw Elliot Stabler walk slowly and unsurely through the doors. "I haven't heard from you in more than five months. What are you doing here? Is everything okay? Did something happen to your family? Are you okay?"

Elliot continued to walk up to Olivia's desk. His mindset seemed just out of reach. "You already know that Kathy left me. But she gained full custody. I'm only allowed to visit them three times a month."

"Why?" Olivia asked, not fully understanding Elliot's predicament. "What allowed her to have full custody?"

Elliot temporarily left eye contact with Olivia, looking around him as if he were brand new to the place and someone after him knew it better than he did; he looked alert like he was going to be killed. Then he looked up at Olivia, eyes pleading. "I've started…betting people…for money."

"Gambling?" Olivia asked.

Elliot looked down at the floor.

"Elliot?" Olivia urged him. She wanted answers. "Elliot." She did not want or expect the answer she got.

"Yeah, Liv. I'm…gambling. But I don't like to use that term."

"Well, that's what it is, Elliot." Olivia stopped, at least for now, calling Elliot his name that she'd used for so long: El. She felt that she did not even know who this man, if she could call him one, was anymore. He was a stranger. She did not want Elliot to get into this horrible, horrible habit. It wasn't worth his time. He could do better. A lot better than what he was doing right now.

Elliot's eyes wavered a little, but then returned to look at Olivia still standing in front of him. He hesitated, then said, "I came down here for your help. No one else's help. Yours."

"What kind of help do you mean?" Olivia asked, a little afraid of what the answer could be.

"I…I need money."

"You need what?" Olivia exclaimed, staring at Elliot.

"Please don't make me say it again. I feel like I shouldn't even be here. I'm embarrassed just needing to ask you for money." Elliot looked shameful. It broke Olivia's heart to see him like this. But she couldn't do much.

"You need money," Olivia said disbelievingly. She paused, then said, "I'm sorry, Elliot. But truthfully, I don't think you deserve that money. From me or anybody else."

"But Olivia, I'm in debt. And I need to pay it off." He was begging. "I really need it. My family's left me, I can't support myself anymore, and gambling gives me a chance at making a better life."

"But, Elliot. Gambling does nothing to help you. You are just getting cheated away and losing all of your money. You cannot expect me to give you all the money that you've lost, because I don't have it. Gambling is not making a better life for you. It's making it worse."

"No, Liv. I don't think it is. I can get all my money back, pay off my debt, pay you back, make a better life, and maybe even get part-time custody of my kids."

"But, Elliot. Have you ever thought if your kids even want you to have custody of them? They probably feel like they don't even know you anymore. I know I don't. That's why you're not getting any money from me. I don't feel that you deserve it. It's for your own good." Olivia sat back down as Elliot left, shaking her head, disappointed. Disappointed that Elliot would go this low for money; disappointed that he would practically come crawling back to her just for money. She felt grateful that Captain, Munch, and Fin were all out working another case. She didn't think she was going to mention this to them, either. They didn't need to know.

•••SVU•••

Elliot slumped out of the room. He needed the money. He was in trouble, and he needed to pay it off. He knew he wouldn't get anything now, so he went to the closest bar and started drinking. Drinking like his life depended on it.

He didn't know what else he would do to get money to pay off his debt. He had to find a way, he just didn't know what.

•••SVU•••

Two hours passed by, all the while Elliot was drinking like he couldn't stop. Finally, he held up his hand to the bartender, signaling that the amount he had already consumed was enough and that the bartender should stop giving him more. He tried to stand up, but instead stumbled, grabbing onto the bar top for support.

The bartender looked over the top and asked, "Sir, would you like me to call a taxi?"

Elliot waved away the offer, but the bartender kept insisting, "Sir, are you sure? It won't be no trouble."

"No, I'm fine. I can walk." Elliot's speech was largely slurred.

"No, man. I insist. And besides, it's dark outside. Don't wanna walk into a bad part of town." The bartender was now standing at the phone, hands ready to dial.

"Ah, shit. Never mind." Elliot wobbled out of the bar, grabbing at chairs, tables, and doorways to keep him standing right-side up. Thinking of his past job experience, he says under his breath, not loud enough for anyone to hear, "The whole state is a 'bad part of town'."

The bartender helplessly watched him leave.

Elliot went around the corner, but instead of going back to his house, he turned around and started drunkenly walking towards Olivia's apartment. He told himself that he would give it one more shot for her to lend him some money. But after that, he was on his own.

He found his way easily to Olivia's apartment. Even while he was drunk, he could navigate almost perfectly. He had been to her apartment many times, but most of those visits were concerned with work. Nothing personal, everything professional. But this time he was going there for his own personal business. He needed that money. He went up to the buttons to buzz Olivia. He pressed and held.

"Liv. I need to talk to you. Let me in." He still sounded drunk, and there was a definite smell to him that indicated his previous activities.

"Elliot," Olivia's voice responded. "You're drunk."

Elliot didn't answer.

Olivia asked, "Elliot, what are you doing here?"

"Liv. Just…please let me. I need to explain." He was begging again, just this time, through drunkenness.

Olivia didn't answer him for a few seconds, which made Elliot a little uneasy and more impatient.

Olivia wanted to welcome him in, like the old times, but it was hard. Because this moment was not like the old times. In the old times, Elliot wasn't drunk. He wasn't broke. He wasn't in debt. He wasn't gambling for a living. He had a family he could go to. He didn't beg when he was short on cash. She missed those days and desperately wished for them to come back. But they wouldn't She had to make the best of what was happening now. And the best was to get Elliot out off the street, worried that he would get into deep trouble since his alcohol level was so high. She wanted to help him. So she let him in.

•••SVU•••

Olivia heard a knock on her door. It had no rhythm. Like slurred knocking.

She went to the door, looked through the peephole into the hallway, and saw Elliot leaning on the wall with one arm, trying to keep his balance. Olivia opened the door and helped Elliot inside, him leaning on her for support. She made him sit down on her couch. She sat down, too, but on the other end.

There was a silence for a moment.

"Elliot."

"Liv."

"You wanted to explain?" Olivia asked.

Elliot straightened up slightly, but not much. "Yeah, Liv. About the gambling and the money that I need."

Olivia stood up abruptly. "Elliot! No! No money from me."

"Olivia," Elliot said quietly. "You said I could explain."

She sighed, arms crossed, and sat back down. "Alright. Explain, then."

"When Kathy and the kids left me, didn't know what to do. They had been keeping me level, or as level as I could be doing my job. But when they left, my control left with them. I didn't know what to do. I had gambled once before, but that was in college. I was younger, more inexperienced in life. But I remembered how to do it, all the rules and everything. I lost my job. I was away from everyone who kept me in line, including you, Liv. I would say that I panicked. I went to my last option: gambling. I knew how to do it and I needed the money."

Olivia thought this little speech was touching, but she could only understand a little more than half of it. Elliot was slurring the words together.

"But I guess that I hadn't gambled enough. I didn't think that losing that much money would be a big problem for me. But it ended up it did." Elliot leaned in a little closer towards Olivia. "That's why I need the money. To turn my life around. I now know what I did wrong, and I need to right it. Butut I need the money to do that. Please, Liv. Help me. I need the money." His words were becoming more slurred as he became more anxious.

Olivia was shaking her head, her eyes closed. She squeaked out, "Elliot. I can't let you take money. You got yourself into this mess, and you need to get yourself out of it. Alone; without anyone's help." Her voice got stronger; more accusing. "And you should be ashamed of yourself for trying to get me into this, too. I should not be involved in your large-consequential activities."

"I promise I'll pay you back once I get the money," he pleaded. "And I am ashamed. But I won't be if I find my way out of this gambling mess."

Olivia kept shaking her head firmly. "Elliot, no. I've already decided that you're getting no money from me. None."

Elliot was drunk. That was a problem.

He suddenly stood up and ran over to Olivia. Her back was to him, so he had to grab her by her arm and twist her around before slamming her back against the wall. He was becoming desperate. Really desperate. And he was showing it to the extreme.

Olivia wanted to scream for help, but she didn't want Elliot to get into more trouble than he already was. So her mouth opened in surprise, but made no attempt to yell. Then, in shock, rather breathlessly, "Elliot! What the hell are you doing?"

She looked into Elliot's eyes, where a person shows most of their emotions. She saw that he was desperate, pleading, helpless. That quick flash of anger disappeared as fast as it came. Elliot realized what he was doing and quickly stepped away from Olivia, who was still in shock, and hurriedly ran out the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yankee Doodle,
> 
> Chinagirl18
> 
> Up next: Olivia walks into something that she wished she hadn't found in the first place.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Olivia decides to visit Elliot and she gets into something she would rather have avoided.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you for all the views I've gotten. They make me happy. :)
> 
> We are now 2/3 done with this short-story. Hope it's reached -- or exceeded -- your expectations so far.
> 
> Disclaimer: I own nothing. You own everything. Yeah. Right. In my dreams.

It'd been two solid weeks and Elliot still hadn't called. Olivia may have thought that Elliot made the wrong choice, but she still cared about him. She was worried. Did something happen to him? Was he still gambling? Was he…No. Olivia didn't want to think of that. But…he couldn't be. Could he?

So yes, one could say that Olivia was starting to worry. She wanted to make sure that he was okay…and her instincts and her strong friendship to Elliot made her do the thing she did next.

•••SVU•••

Olivia pulled into the driveway of Elliot's house. She turned the key in the ignition, killing the engine. For a moment, she just stared at the house in front of her, having not seen it or visited it for the past five and a half months. She missed the old place where she would visit her used-to-be detective partner, in good times or bad. She wondered what it looked like inside the house, whether it was the same or if it had changed because of what was happening in Elliot's life.

She walked up to the front door. Knocked. No answer. Knocked again. No one answered the social call.

"Elliot," she called. "It's Olivia. I…haven't heard from you in a while. I came by to make sure that you were alright." She paused and said quietly enough so that only she could hear, "Even though I'm not your partner anymore, I'm still going to watch out for you."

She waited a few more seconds, standing anxiously on his front porch. Finally, she tried the doorknob. It was unlocked. She turned and pushed the door open.

It didn't creak when it opened like in the horror movies where a pretty and popular girl is dumb enough to go into the creepy, dark, old and abandoned house only to have her limbs torn apart by a flesh-eating monster with razor-hands. When Olivia opened the door, it sounded creepy enough in its way of opening silently and no one was standing behind it. It was an empty house.

Slowly, she walked in, closed the door, and began peeking into every room before she went further inside. She checked the living room, but no one was sleeping on the couch. Next, she went to his bedroom, hoping to find him in there, not drunk, just exhausted. No such luck. She walked up this bed, noticing that the sheets were still wrinkled from the night before. She walked around to the other side of the bed and found a pair of Elliot's pants. Inside a pocket, she saw a piece of paper sticking out, begging to be noticed. She carefully took out the little piece of paper and unfolded it.

It had messy scribbling on it. It was a name of a house that had been abandoned for a couple months. Olivia wondered what Elliot would be doing at this address. Olivia was going to check it out. She walked back outside to her car, looked at the house for a short moment, and drove. 

•••SVU•••

Olivia pulled up to the address written on the small piece of paper. She looked up at the abandoned house, its paint chipping off, and its shutters no longer able to stay closed on their own. Now this was creepy.

She slowly walked up to the house, put her ear to the door, and listened for voices or noises that would detect suspicion. She heard nothing. Maybe she should go further inside. People could be in a basement and she wouldn't be able to hear them from outside. She checked the doorknob and discovered that the door was unlocked. Slowly, Olivia opened the door inch by inch until she could see inside the room. The furniture looked like it was in the right place, but it was not very clean. The people visiting this place must not have cared for cleanliness. They were probably just here for the gambling and money.

She walked slowly in, also watching the floor so she didn't step on anything and alert the men downstairs. Around her, it was dark and musty and had a smell of something that had been dead for quite a while. As she proceeded further into the room, she started to hear soft mumblings of men's voices coming from somewhere else in the abandoned house. She took her gun out of its holster and held it up in aim, but not cocking it. As she made her way into the house and down a short flight of stairs, besides the sounds of voices, there was a slight stench of booze. They seemed like they were both coming from the same place. In her mind, Olivia was imagining a group of eight or so men around a table, drunk, some sleeping, some still gambling, all the while oblivious to anything that wasn't happening on the table.

Olivia slinked down the small, dim hallway leading downstairs and into another hallway. That hallway was narrow and dim, too, but with a strong smell of booze. Silently, she made her way into the hallway, all the while debating with herself is she could call for back-up, but shooing the thought away each time, thinking of Elliot. She passed a closed door that smelled like crap and barf; she assumed it was the toilet.

She was almost to the edge of the hallway when she saw the backs of two men, fortunately facing away from her. Flattening herself against the wall, she started listening to the men who were speaking. They were talking about their failing love-lives – or none at all. Olivia could hear a total of 4 men's voices.

"Hand me another bottle, Jon," one said, followed by the sound of clanking bottles.

"My girls seem to leave me all the time," another announced. "They dump me by text messaging. I find it rude."

From not far behind her, Olivia heard a rushing of water. She made it out to be a toilet flush. She looked behind her to see a man around his forties in age coming out of the crudely-scented room ad turn towards her. She couldn't run and there was nowhere to hide. The next thing she knew, her gun was flung out of her hand, landing on the ground, and she was being pushed backwards into the gambling room and up against the wall.

"Look what we got," the one named Jon said, slurred and in sick pleasure.

"Hey! Don't you touch me! I am going to kick your sorry ass, bud," she said, inserting bitterness into her speech.

Now that she was looking at the room, she saw that there were five men, all laughing cruelly and drunkenly, but one of them Olivia was silently begging to: Elliot was at that table. He seemed oblivious to what was happening, though. He looked drunk, well beyond the legal limit. He was holding two beer bottles in his hand, taking swigs from each every couple seconds. Olivia desperately wanted him to look up and recognize the woman standing in front of him, and come to rescue her from these bastards, but no such thing happened. Elliot just sat there like it wasn't his business and he wasn't going to butt in. He didn't pay attention except to the cards in his hand.

Damn it, Elliot, she thought.

By now, the men crowded around Olivia were laughing and teasing her by playing with her hair. They were touching her mostly above the waist, but some were sneaking peeks below, making Olivia sick to her stomach.

For a split second, the men glanced about looking for another bottle to glug down. Thinking quickly and swiftly, Olivia reached for an available chair for the taking. She hoisted it in front of her, holding it like a shield, the four legs pointing toward the men. One of them rolled their eyes like he saw this every day and was bored by the survival tactics. And so, as he got closer, he didn't show any hesitation, and got close enough to snatch the chair away without being jabbed by a wooden leg. The other men laughed, amused at the failed attempt of Olivia's to survive. Olivia just glared. She hated their guts.

As they got closer, their breaths reeking the air, Olivia spotted a beer bottle lying near her feet. In a fast movement, she bent down, grabbed the bottle, and smashed the bottom end of it against the wall, shattering it and creating sharp, jagged edges. She thrust it into the air toward a man when they tried to advance on her. As she intended, it made him retreat, but only a little distance and not for long.

Think Liv, think, she told herself. She knew that this lone beer bottle wouldn't be able to hold these men off for too much longer. She looked toward Elliot again, whom had stopped drinking, but was still unreachable. She had to think fast, something that would demand Elliot's attention, whether he wanted it or not. She breathed deeply, still holding the bottle, and said, loud enough for Elliot to hear clearly:

"I love you, Elliot."

Right as she finished the sentence, the harassing men around her started mocking her with "boo hoos" and fake "aws". The one named Jon said, "Oh, poor baby. Let's cheer her up." He walked forward faster than she expected and she cut him on his arm. He held it and cursed at the gash and at Olivia. She inched herself backwards until she hit the wall, wanting to stay as far away from these drunks as she could.

Then she realized that someone was lifting a chair behind the group. The chair was raised high above their heads, and then came down hard onto one guy's head. The man collapsed onto the floor.

The man with the chair was Elliot. He had heard her.

Olivia breathed out a sigh of relief, but quickly took an intake for there were still three men harassing her.

"Get away from her!" Elliot shouted fiercely. He brought the chair up again and swung down, but missed the one he was aiming for. While two of the men sagged away – they were less drunk, therefore had more sense – Jon was more or less chicken and rushed Olivia, who was temporarily distracted, snatched away the broken bottle, and held it up to Olivia's neck, who was now being held like a shield from the chair-wielding Elliot.

"Move and you see blood," the man threatened. Elliot froze in his tracks, gripping the chair above him.

He looked at the woman who had just said she loved him. "Olivia. What are you doing here?"

"I was worried about you, Elliot," she said.

Jon shook her and touched the broken glass to her neck. "Aw. How sweet. But you made a wrong move coming here. Now shut up."

Olivia ignored him, being her stubborn self. "Elliot. We were partners for over ten years. Do you really think that I would let you hang around money-cheating scumbags?"

"Shut up, girlie," Jon said more forcefully, shaking Olivia again and pressing the sharp edges harder on her neck, enough to make her wince.

Elliot's heart was in his throat. Olivia came here because she was worried about him. He got her into this. And he was going to get her out of it. Alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yankee Doodle,
> 
> Chinagirl18
> 
> Up next: The conclusion to it all.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Part 3/3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> MY DEEPEST APOLOGIES to those who were interested in this story. I have absolutely NO IDEA how I never put the third and final chapter up, but I AM SO SORRY. I just saw this today and I was shocked! Well, HERE IT IS, finally. xP
> 
> Disclaimer: No material that is already owned by Dick Wolf or NBC is mine. But how I wish that I did...

"How long am I going to be in this position?" Olivia asked, sounding annoyed. Even if it had only been about thirty seconds, it felt like forever to the ones without the weapon: Olivia and Elliot. Their eyes connected, Elliot silently pleading forgiveness, him no longer being in his drunken trance. Olivia smiled understandingly.

"Stop whining or you're gonna get something worse than a cut neck."

Olivia sighed, annoyed, but kept quiet.

"Jon," Elliot said, trying to negotiate. "Come on, man. I know you. You're drunk. Otherwise you wouldn't be anywhere near this position. Now you can just let her go…"

"Now, why would I do that?"

"Because you have kids. You have your wife. I don't. I had my chance and I blew it. But you don't, Jon. You still have a family. Don't destroy that chance by going to prison."

Olivia realized that Jon was starting to loosen his hold on her and the broken bottle. But she also noticed that he was starting to cry.

"If you do this," Elliot continued, motioning towards the hostage situation in front of him, "you will be too old when you get out of prison to get that chance again. Don't blow it, man."

Jon may be tough, but he had a soft bone in his body. He was softly sobbing, his shoulders shaking, his hand with the bottle almost seen inches away from Olivia's neck, his head down, not wanting anyone he knew to see tears slowly streaking down his face. His pride was important, but what was more important to him was his family.

"Jon, think of your kids, your wife, the life you had before turning to gambling. You don't want to do this."

As soon as Jon's arm sagged around Olivia's waist, she took action, twisting his arm around and making him lie on the ground. But she didn't do this hard enough to hurt him. Even if he had just held a broken bottle to her neck, she had much sympathy for what this man had gone through. However he got into this gambling situation, she was determined that she was going to help him get his life and family back.

* * *

Olivia breathed, in-out, in-out. It was confession time. She faced Cragen, Munch, and Fin. "Elliot…Elliot had been gambling."

Cragen and Munch were silent, and Fin sighed disappointedly.

Olivia suspected something. "Captain? John?" she asked. "Did you know about this? Did you know that Elliot was gambling?

"Yes, Olivia," Cragen answered.

"And you didn't do anything to help him?" Olivia asked, bewildered.

"We couldn't," Munch said. "Why do you think he lost his job?"

" _That's_ why? You could have told me. I was his partner, for God's sake! You didn't think that I would want to know what was happening?"

"Exactly. You were his partner. You've known him for eleven years. We thought you knew about him."

"Well, I didn't. I just realized that something was off. But…I thought it had something to do with Kathy and his kids, still getting over his divorce. I didn't' expect gambling." Olivia became silent, then said, "Wasn't there some way you could help him?"

Cragen shook his head. "Elliot was a detective of the Special Victims Unit. We focus on sex crimes and crimes against children. These cases involve a lot of stress and a lot of advice from us and professionals. Elliot would know everything that you and I know. We wouldn't be able to help him much."

Munch spoke, "We knew that Elliot would eventually find his way out of this gambling problem. He didn't need our help; he needed freedom. He needed to know that what he was doing was never going to help him. Books were never going to help. You learn by experience. And Elliot told us not to tell you. He didn't want to worry you because it was 'his problem, not yours'. His words."

"Wow, John," Olivia joked. "Now I see why you were the one to be the temporary replacement for Captain when he was gone." She looked at Fin. "Did you know about this?"

Fin shook his head. "No, baby girl. This is the first I've heard anything of it. Brand new information for me."

Olivia walked out of the station and drove to her apartment. She sat on the couch, thinking over all the information she just got. One thing she couldn't get out of her head was,  _Why did Elliot not want her to know about this?_  He surely knew that if anyone could help him, it was Olivia. She knew him better than his own ex-wife; they were partners for eleven years. At least she had a couple nights to think these questions through; Cragen had let Olivia take some short break time, paid. She silently thanked him.

* * *

"Elliot?" Olivia asked, surprised to see him at her door. "What are you doing here?" She paused, then remembered something called hospitality. "Please, come in."

Elliot walked in, hands in coat pockets. "I wanted to explain about the other night with Jon. By the way, how is he?"

"He's getting better. I got him and h is family to go to some therapy sessions, separately and together. He went hesitantly at first, but his wife helped him into it."

"Thank you, Liv," said Elliot, grateful for the friend he had.

She nodded. "Um, what is there to explain, exactly?" Olivia asked. "You stopped him from cutting my throat."

"Okay. Another word for 'explain' is 'apologize'. I'm sorry you had to see me at my worst. I came over here just to explain. I didn't mean to push you up against the wall. You know it's not me. I was drunk. … But I'll stop making excuses. I will take responsibility for what I did, and I'm sorry."

"El, it's okay. You were drunk. And panicking. I understand why you did what you did. It doesn't mean I agree, but I understand."

Elliot wasn't quite done with what he came here to do. "And I want to say I'm sorry about what happened in the abandoned house. I'm sorry I didn't stop them earlier than I did. I knew that somehow you could ward them off and get away, or else keep them away until I could help." He paused, thinking. "And Liv…I was drunk that visit I came here. But I wasn't drunk in the abandoned house."

Olivia was confused. "But I saw you taking gulps of that stuff. How were you not drunk?"

"I had two bottles by me. I took a swig from one bottle, then, acting like I was taking another drink from the other bottle, I spit the stuff into that one. I didn't swallow enough to make me drunk. I had to keep up the act, though, or they would throw me out." When Olivia gave him a look, he added, "This was when I was still dependent on gambling. I'm not anymore."

Olivia gave him a blank look.

"I learned it from a movie. Ever heard of Coyote Ugly?"

Olivia laughed. "You watched a Chick Flick? I don't know, El. Maybe all that depression got to ya."

Elliot smiled warmly. "Kathleen wanted to watch it. I know it's kind of old, but it was on TV. She'd never seen the movie before, believe it or not." He breathed, once, twice. Now it was time for him to be serious. "Olivia. Since you know I wasn't drunk at the gambling table that means that I heard what you said."

Suddenly, Olivia's heart was in her throat. She couldn't speak.

"Olivia, you said that you loved me. Is that true?" he asked.

"Y-yes." Quick. Quiet. She couldn't speak anymore. She willed herself hard for that one syllable. She wanted to hear what he had to say.

She was about to speak up and ask Elliot the same thing when he finally spoke. "Liv, I love you, too."

Both Elliot and Olivia thought that it had taken way too long for these feelings to be out in the open. After eleven years of ups and downs, sideways and diagonals, the confession was confessed. They loved each other and one couldn't live without the other.

The journey to this night was a mighty hell of a gamble, but tonight's love was going to be certain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THE {WONDERFUL E/O} END.
> 
> I hope everyone liked the conclusion to the story! Again, sorry it took so long! Wowzers.
> 
> And just to put into perspective how long ago this was, these are notes from the original: "Oh! And news update from Neal: The first five episodes of Season 12 of L&O: SVU are Locum, Bullseye, Violated, Auction, and Wet. Can't wait!"
> 
> Wow. Season 12. We are getting ready for Season 17 now. Five years. UNBELIEVABLE. *shakes head incredulously*
> 
> -Chinagirl18


End file.
